May's Master Quest
by MewFox890
Summary: After her defeat in the Wallace Cup, May returns to Johto to obtain the remaining two ribbons so she can enter the Grand Festival, that will be held in Blackthorn City. Along the way meeting new and old friends, capturing new Pokémon and discovering new places. Contains ContestShipping.
1. Chapter 1 - A New Friend

A New Friend

In the Olivine City Pokémon Center, May was lying on a bench, impatiently waiting for her Pokémon.

"Here you are, May", Nurse Joy called out."Your Pokémon are fighting fit."

May quickly got up and ran over to the the nurse. "Great! Thank you, Nurse Joy!" May said delighted and received her poké balls.

"Where are you off to now, if I may ask?"

"I'm taking the ferry to Cianwood City."

"Oh, then I suggest you should pay the Safari Zone a visit. It's really close to the city."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy! I'll keep that in mind", May smiled and bowed. "I have to go now, the ferry will leave any second."

She waved goodbye and ran out of the Pokémon Center, and she just managed to get on board the S.S. Aqua before it set sail. She exhaled in relief and leaned against the wall.

"A-are you May!?" someone exclaimed.

"Huh?" May looked around for whoever had called her name.

A girl, not much older than herself, approached her. She had long light brown hair with two orange balls in it, and was wearing a white dress with and orange ribbon. Her eyes were dazzling.

"Oh my goodness, it _is _you!"

"Y-yes", May stuttered, feeling her cheeks becoming warm.

"I'm Jasmine", the girl said. "I'm the Olivine Gym Leader. And I'm a coordinator."

"The _Gym Leader_!?"

"Yes, and I'm a big fan of yours! I heard people calling you _the Princess of Hoenn_. I saw you competing in the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh."

"Oh, that's nice", May smiled gently. "But, what are you doing out of the Gym?"

"I have to go to Cianwood to get some stuff for my Ampharos. And to get some vacation."

"Oh, what's with your Ampharos?" May asked.

"I don't know, but she'll be fine. Do you want to grab a bite with me? My treat!" Jasmine smiled.

"Oh sure!" May felt drool in her mouth.

There was a big all-you-can-eat buffet with the most amazing food May had ever laid her eyes upon. She took a little of everything and kept eating even when she was more than full. Jasmine was amused by her appetite.

"Wow, you're as big of an eater as a Munchlax", she giggled.

The two talked for hours about contests and other coordinators.

"You beat Zoey, you know. She's one of the best in Sinnoh", Jasmine said with excitement. "Bummer you didn't win the Wallace Cup. Dawn's a tough one."

"I know! Dawn really impressed me. She and Piplup are just an amazing team", May said in between bites. "I will win next contest though."

Jasmine nodded. "Say, you know the Drew, don't you?"

May wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Well, yes."

"Did you know he's called _the Prince of Hoenn_?"

"Th-the _Prince_?" May was surprised. She had never heard nickname before.

Jasmine sniggered. "Yes, I think it's because he's so handsome. Every young girl coordinator has a crush on him. But I've heard he has his eyes on someone else."

"Really?" May said and tried not to blush. "Huh..."

"Hm, you know. They call you Princess of Hoenn, and him Prince of Hoenn..." Jasmine said thoughtfully.

_Silly nicknames_, May thought.

Finally, they arrived at the port of Cianwood. It was huge!

"Do you want to accompany me to the shop?" Jasmine asked.

"Sure!"

They walked into the city, and May was mesmerized by all the shops. She really wanted to take some time to shop, but Jasmine seemed to be in a hurry, so she pushed the urge back.

After twenty minutes of walking, Jasmine exclaimed: "There it is!" and pointed at a pharmacy.

"A pharmacy?"

Jasmine didn't respond, and started running to the store, and May followed her in. Behind the disk stood a strange looking old man with round sunglasses, a funny mustache and a green hat.

"Well, greetings, young Jasmine! What brings you here?"

"Sir, it's Sparkle. She hasn't been herself lately, and I think she might be sick again."

"Hm, that sounds awful. What's with her?"

"Well, she doesn't want to lit up the lighthouse, she's really angry towards me at times and she throws up every morning."

The pharmacist nodded and lowered his head. Jasmine looked really worried.

"Hmm, young Jasmine. Sounds to me like your Ampharos is about to lay and egg."

It went silent for a while. Neither Jasmine nor May knew how to respond at first. Finally Jasmine said quietly: "She's pregnant?"

"You could say that... Or you could say she's Pr_egg-_nant, hoho!"

Jasmine looked at May with eyes of confusion.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that", May said.

"_Egg_-sactly", the man chuckled.

"Yes, that's... excellent", Jasmine said with a troubled voice.

"You mean: _egg-_cellent?"

"Sir, will you please stop that?"

"M-_egg_ me!"

"Please, I'm begging you."

"Did you say you're b_egg_ing me?"

"Sir...Do you have any... uh, tips for a pregnant Pokémon?" May asked to help.

"Aaah, a pr_egg-_nant Pokémon in need. Yes, well here are some _egg-_strodinary tips, for egg-sample-"

"Sir, _please, _STOP THE EGG PUNS!" Jasmine yelled.

Both May and the old man stared at the frustrated Gym Leader.

"_Egg-_scuse me?"

"Okay, bye." Jasmine turned around and left the store, with May behind her.

Outside, Jasmine sighed heavily. "I guess I have to get back to take care of my Ampharos... I should take the one tonight..."

"Okay", May said quietly.

"Sorry about the outburst."

"It's fine."

"He's was so annoying..."

"Yeah... But he really was something _egg-_stra, wasn't he?" May giggled.

"Stop that!"

May laughed. "Just kidding! Hey, you want to go down to the beach and practice some combinations?"

"I'd love to!"

They found a spot down at the beach where they could practice where there weren't too much people.

"Should I go first?" May asked.

"Go for it."

"Alright", May picked up a poké ball and threw it high up in the air. "Go, Blaziken!" Her Blaziken jumped out the poké ball. "Blaziken, dive and use Blaze Kick!"

Blaziken pointed its face down against the ground and let gravity take its course. Coming down it spun in a rapid speed in the air, fired up its right leg and landed in the sand. The Blaze Kick's power struck the sand and the water and surrounded Blaziken in a circle of fire and heat.

"Now, Blaziken, use Sky Uppercut at the ground!"

Blaziken's right hand lit up and it directed it down causing sand and water to whirl up which put the fire out. It rose up again and screeched to the sky.

"Whoa!" Jasmine gasped.

"Awesome, Blaziken!" May praised her Pokémon. Blaziken seemed proud of itself. "You're up, Jasmine!"

Jasmine nodded and took a poké ball.

"Steelix, let's go!" she shouted and threw it.

Steelix popped out with a roar. It was the biggest Steelix May's ever seen. Jasmine pointed at the ocean.

"Use Iron Tail!" Steelix tail lit up and hit the water, making a huge wall of water. "Now Screech!" Steelix used Screech at the water wall, and the sound waves broke it down.

May clapped with enthusiasm. "Wow, awesome!"

Jasmine bowed. "Thank you!"

"Oh no, my Chikorita!" someone yelled.

"Corsola!" another one screamed.

"My Magneton!"

"What's that?" May said.

May and Jasmine saw a mob of people further away on the beach, all trying to run after the motorboat that was speeding away into the sea. They run to the group.

"They took our Pokémon!" a girl cried out.

May looked over at the boat. She could make out a woman with blonde hair and green-haired man that were on the boat.

"That's... Cassidy! And Hutch!"

"Who?"

May didn't respond. She called her Wartortle out of the poké ball, got on it's back and soon enough they were chasing after them. Wartortle could swim faster than any boat and they were closing in on them-

"May!" she heard Jasmine yell behind her. She was sitting on the back of a Lanturn and soon they caught up to May and Wartortle. "You're not doing this alone, you know!"

Soon enough, Cassidy and Hutch discovered that they were being followed.

"Oh, no! They're coming this way! Do something, Hutch!"

"Excuse me, but the name is Butch! Will you ever learn?"

"Shut up and stop them."

"Fine!" Butch called out a Sharpedo. "Sharpedo, use bite on the Wartortle!"

The Sharpedo swam in high speed towards May, ready to bite.

"Wartortle, use Ice Beam!" Wartortle froze the Sharpedo solid. "Now, tackle it!" Wartortle sped up, tackled the block of ice with Sharpedo in it and sent it flying back to the ship, hitting Bucth in the head.

"Bluargh!" Butch cried.

"Urgh, you're useless", Cassidy sighed and called out a Flying type Pokémon that May's never seen. "Mandibuzz, Steel Wing on Lanturn!"

The Mandibuzz was diving in for an attack towards Lanturn.

"Lanturn, Electro Ball!" Jasmine exclaimed. Lanturn's front orb shone yellow and released a ball of lighting towards the bird, but it dodged, and hit Lanturn with it's Steel Wing, knocking Jasmine into the water.

"Ha! Mandibuzz, Aerial Ace!" Cassidy commanded. Mandibuzz was going in for another attack.

"Lanturn, Dive!" Jasmine screamed, and her Pokémon managed to dodge Mandibuzz just in time, who couldn't stop its attack in time and accidentally dove into the ocean. "Yes, now use Tackle!"

Underwater Lanturn tackled Mandibuzz and send it back to Cassidy. She called her Pokémon back in rage.

"Wait, where did the other one go?" Butch asked.

"Huh?"

"Over here!" May said. They twirled around. She had managed to climb on board when they weren't looking.

"Eh?"

"Wartortle, Water Gun!"

"Lanturn, Electro Ball!"

"EH!?"

A combination of the Electro Ball and Water Gun made a big blast that sent Cassidy and Butch flying. Jasmine and Lanturn had caught up to the boat again and climbed on board.

"Let's return to the shore", she said.

"Yeah, but how do we get back?" May asked.

"Oh, I can manage a motorboat."

Jasmine turned the boat around and drove it back to the beach, where all the trainers were cheering. Everyone got their Pokémon back, including a breeder, who gave Jasmine tips about Sparkle.

"Feed her some Poké Puffs", he told her and handed her a small box of delicious looking cakes.

"What's that?" Jasmine asked.

"It's this treat from the region Kalos. Pokémon love them! I think it will make your Ampharos feel a lot better."

"Great, thank you!"

"You can have some, too", the breeder said to May and handed her a box of Poké Puffs as well.

"Oh, thank you!"

"It's the least I can do for you! You saved my Chikorita after all."

They went back into the city after that, grabbed some dinner, shopped some equipment. May bought herself some new clothes and shoes, as well as a bandana. The hours flew by, and before they knew it they found themselves back at the harbor just as the sun was about to set.

"I guess this is goodbye, then", May said sadly.

"Yeah, for now at least." Jasmine handed her a small piece of paper. "That's my phone number. Call me anytime you want!"

May smiled. "Thank you, Jasmine..."

"I had a great time with you! Good luck at your next contest."

Jasmine gave May a hug, then she went on board. The ship set sail, and Jasmine ran up on deck to wave goodbye. May waved and waved until the boat was out of sight and stayed at the port to quietly watch as the sun set. She smiled, grasping the small piece of paper, happy over the new friend she just got.


	2. Chapter 2 - Route 47

Route 47

"You like them, Glaceon?" May smiled as she watched her Glaceon eat the Poké Puff with delight. Her Pokémon smiled at her and nodded.

She was once again in a Pokémon Center, waiting for her Blaziken and Wartortle, so she could go to the Safari Zone. Apparently it's just by the mountain at the edge of the city. May stroke Glaceon's dazzling fur, when all of a sudden, someone hugged her from behind.

"Oh, if it isn't my darling, May!" said a familiar voice.

May screeched. "Harley!?" She tried to free herself from his embrace.

"Oh, don't be so rude!" Harley said with a sarcastically sad voice. "We haven't seen each other for months! Now has my gingerbread-cookie doing?" He hugged her even tighter.

"I-I'm fine", she said with barely any air in her lungs. "B-but right now, you're suffocating me..."

Harley let go. "Oh, honey-bun, I'm so terribly sorry!"

_No, you're not_, May thought.

"Oooh, what are those cakes? They look delicious!" He pointed at the Poké Puffs.

"Those are Poké Puffs. It's food for Pokémon, coming from Kalos."

"Really, now? I heard Kalos is a fabulous region with beautiful places and marvelous- Excuse me, where do you think you're going!?"

"W-what? I'm not going anywhere, ehehehe..."

May was trying to sneak away while Harley went on about Kalos, but mission failed.

"You're really hurting my feelings now, May", Harley said with his eyes full of fake tears I thought you and I were friends now!"

"You... did?"

He sprung up to her, putting his face uncomfortably close to hers and grasping her hand. "But, of course! You don't see me as a friend?"

"Eh, uh, I don't know..."

A waterfall of tears escaped his eyes. "I even watched you compete in the Wallace Cup! Are you saying that was a waste of time?"

"No, but I mean..." May had no idea what to say, so she just sighed.

"Oh well", Harley shrugged and stopped crying immediately. "No hard feelings."

_Well, he got over that quickly._

"So, anyway, tootsie roll, where are you off to now?"

"I'm thinking about going to the Safari Zone an-"

Harley interrupted her with a large gasp. "Reaaaally, what a coincidence! I'm going there, too!"

"Oh... Great..."

"It's perfect! Now we can spend some good quality time together to renew our friendship! Doesn't that sound fabulous?"

"Uh... sure..."

_Not really..._

So to the dismay of May, she and Harley went together towards the mountain. Harley went on and on about the Wallace Cup, saying how "_absolutely amazing_" she was and how "_incredibly darling_" she looked and how she was "_super-uber-really close to win_". May just responded with "yes" "I know" and "mhm"'s and waited for him to mention something for him to make fun of her of.

"So I guess you still only have three ribbons, May?"

_There it was._

"Yes, still three", May sighed.

"Oh, hon, you don't have to sound so annoyed! But just so you know, I have four", he giggled.

"That's great, Harley."

"Yes, quite! And _Drew_ has four ribbons, too."

May's heart skipped at the mentioning of Drew. "Oh, so you've met him recently?"

"Why, of course! He and I and Solidad saw the Wallace Cup together, you know", he smirked.

"Really?"

May felt all happy inside, knowing that Drew had took his time to watch her compete.

"Did he say anything?" May asked innocently.

"Oh, not much, honey. _Whyyyy_?" He looked at her with intense eyes.

"W-what? No reason! I just-"

"Ooooh, May, are you having some Drew-abstinence?" Harley squealed. "How _adorable_! Look at your face, it's as red as your outfit!"

She had to resist the urge to run away from him. "You know what? Let's talk about something else?"

"Sure", he smiled. "Like how Drew was _totally _checking you out in your contest-outfit!"

May blushed fiercely and groaned. This was going to be a looong walk...

After what felt like an eternity, they arrived at the foot of the mountain where the entrance to Route 47 was. A big cave with a big sign over it saying "Cliff Edge Gate". They went inside. Just by the entrance was a big lake to their left and by their right was a huge poster promoting the Safari Zone and an information desk, where a lady stood. Up ahead was a big staircase.

"Greetings, travelers", the lady shouted and waved at them. "Come over here!" May and Harley went over to the desk. "Are you two Pokémon trainers?"

"Why, of course, my good woman", Harley said. "I'm Harley, and this is my sweet friend May." He slapped May on the shoulder, almost causing her to fall over.

"Oh, how wonderful! I'm guessing you're going to the Safari Zone?"

"Yes", Harley said. "I'm hoping to-"

"Oh, that's great!" the lady interrupted. "The Safari Zone is the very best thing for trainers like you to find a new partner! Oh, it's amazing! Just take the stairs up there, and you'll soon find yourself on Route 47, where a lot of other fierce trainers like you are, and just follow the super-convenient signs and you'll be at the stupendous Safari Zone in a flash!"

"Wow, thanks, I-"

The lady kept talking, not listening to what Harley wanted to say. "This Safari Zone is like no other, it's even better! So many different areas to choose with different Pokémon for each area _and _you can even _customize _the Zone to your liking! Isn't that just incredible!?"

"Yes, tha-"

"Good luck, and have remember to have fun!"

The lady gave them the biggest smile she could pull off and May and Harley looked at each other, stunned over finding an even bigger talker than Harley himself.

They went up the big staircase out of rock and walked outside again, finding themselves at a road at the edge of a cliff.

"Oh, my", Harley gasped.

The road went along the mountain for them to follow. They kept on going, coming to a wooden bridge over a river just by a big waterfall.

"My, my, that looks dangerous", Harley said with enthusiasm.

"It doesn't look that bad?"

"No, hon, I'm talking about those two over there." He pointed at two people standing by the other side of the river. "Just preparing you for a battle, sweet cheeks."

"Oh..."

They went over and just as Harley had suspected, the two people went towards them. A boy and a girl, both of them a few years older than May and wearing matching outfits. Their hands were intertwined.

"Hi, there", the girl said. "My name's Eda, and this is my boyfriend Duff."

"Hello!" Duff bowed.

"Well, hello there, pumpkins", Harley tittered. "I'm Harley, and this is my darlinglove May."

He scuffed at May. "Excuse me? _Darlinglove_?" she snarled.

"What an adorable nickname you've got for your girlfriend", Duff said.

"W-wait, I'm not- We're not-"

"I call my Eda_ my moon_ sometimes! And she calls me _her sun_!"

"Aww, that's adorable! May, why can't we be more like them?"

"Because you're like ten years older than me?"

"Excuse you, I'm only _nine _years older! _Rude_!"

"Do you two cuties want to have a double battle with us?" Eda asked.

"Of course!" Harley squealed. "Let's go, pumpkin pie!"

May groaned. "Fine!"

Eda and Duff simultaneously tossed their poké balls, calling out an Onix and a Cloyster. For some reason it made Harley giggle.

"My, my, you naughty children", he sniggered.

May didn't even bother to understand what he was thinking, and instead called out her Munchlax, and Harley, still smirking, called out Cacturne.

Duff ordered Onix to tackle Cacturne, and Eda told Cloyster to use Water Gun on Munchlax.

"Munchlax, dodge it, then use Solar Beam on Cloyster!"

"Cacturne, darling, use Bullet Seed on Onix!"

Munchlax and Cacturne did as they said and managed to knock down their opponents immediately. It was almost disappointingly easy to May.

"Huh", she exhaled. "Great job, Munchlax."

She gave him a few of May's pink surprise before calling him back to the poké ball. Harley praised his Cacturne in his usual over the top way and then called it back.

"Wow, you two are a really powerful team", Eda said.

_Even though we didn't do any team work... _May thought.

"Why, thank you, darlings. You know, your choice of Pokémon is really... Amusing, to say the least", Harley giggled.

"Ehehe, you noticed that", Duff laughed nervously.

"Uh, what are you talking about?" May asked in confusion.

"Oh, no no no, you're _way _too young and innocent for these grown-up things, I'm afraid."

"Huh?"

"Oh, don't worry, honey. One of these days you'll understand", Eda chuckled.

They said goodbye to the young couple, but not until May had to explained that she and Harley definitely weren't a couple.

"Oh, no, May's already in love with another cutesy pie", Harley told them and nearly got slapped by May. "She's too shy to admit it, though", he added mischievously.

They finally arrived at the Safari Zone Gate after a long walk with Harley going on about how what a prude she was

It was an small village with its own Pokémon Center and everything. There were even market stalls with people selling unusual things. One of the market people called May and Harley over. It was and old frail man with squinted eyes.

"Say, young girl... Will you tell me what Pokémon you have on your party?"

"Uh, sure. Munchlax, Glaceon, Blaziken, Wartortle and Beautifly."

"Hm, a Blaziken you say... And what about you, young man?"

"Oh, I have a Cacturne, a Banette, an Ariados, an Octillery and a Wigglytuff!"

"Hm... a Banette. I see..." He opened a big chest, with multiple tiny pouches in different colors. "Ah, here we go."

He took a red pouch and a dark purple pouch and handed the red one to May and the dark purple one to Harley. May was surprised at how heavy they were.

"What are these?" May asked.

"Something called Mega Stones!" the old man explained. "It's a Blazikenite for your Blaziken and a Banettite your Banette. Let them hold the big stones, and it can unlock amazing powers. There's also a _Key Stone _with adjustable bracelets for you. You'll discover how it all works eventually."

"Why don't you just tell us now?" May asked.

"Oh, because I don't really know how they work", the old man chuckled.

"Oh, goodie", May sighed to her self. "How much?"

"It's free", the man smiled.

"Thanks loads, hon! Have a nice day", Harley smiled and blew a kiss. "May, darling, let's go to the Safari Zone now!"

May nodded, put her mysterious gift in her bag and waved goodbye to the old man.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Safari Zone

The Safari Zone

Harley and May went into the Safari Zone entrance, where they were greeted by a very enthusiastic man in suit and hat.

"Oh, hi, young trainers! My names is Baoba, and I'm the warden of the Safari Zone. Would you like some details on how this particular Safari Zone works?"

"Oh, sure. I heard you can customize it?" May said.

"Yes, indeed you can! On that machine over there", he said happily and pointed at a computer-looking machine in the corner of the room. "We've recently gotten new areas, like _cave_, _lake_ and _ocean_, with new Pokémon from far away regions like Unova and Kalos! Aren't you excited?"

"Oh, that's great..."

"Now go and have fun, children!"

"Alright!" May exclaimed.

Harley was already by the customization machine and was clicking around. "There!" he said.

"What did you do?" May asked.

"I made some changes; now we have the areas: cave, rocky beach, ocean, swamp, plains and marshland! Aren't you excited?" Harley was practically on fire, that's how excited he was.

"Yeah it'll be fun", she agreed.

Harley grabbed her hand. "Then let's get busy, honey bunny!"

"Good luck!" Baoba called after them.

They got 30 Safari Balls and some food before they went in, as well as a step counter.

"You'll have 2500 steps to walk total, then it'll beep and you must return." Baoba told them.

They stepped into a very regular area, with grass and a few trees. May figured it must be the plains.

"Let's compete at how many Pokémon we can catch!" Harley suggested.

"Sure, prepare to lose", May said happily.

She was a lot more excited than she had realized.

"The loser will treat both of us to dinner! Ready, set, go!" Harley took off at an enormous speed.

May set off too, and immediately ran into a cute little Shinx. "Alright, here we go!" She threw a safari ball, but the Shinx dodged it and ran away, hiding in tall grass. May groaned. "Darn it..."

She left the plains after failing attempts on catching a Stantler and a Zigzagoon, and went to what could only be a swamp. The air suddenly got a lot more muggy. She kept walking, trying to not sink into the ground, when she almost stepped over a sleeping Bagon. May backed a few inches away, got a safari ball ready when something attacked her from behind. Another Bagon headbutted her in the back and sent her flying, hitting a tree.

"Oww..." she cried. "These safari games are harder than I thought..."

The sleeping Bagon had woken up now, and the two dragons chased poor May out of the area. She could finally catch a break when she arrived at the entrance of a cave. She sighed.

_Please, let the Pokémon in here be nicer. I don't want to lose against Harley._

She stepped in, surprised at how quiet it was. She walked in a slow and silent pace, carefully watching her every step. Suddenly. She heard a Pokémon cry, coming from somewhere in the cave. May, out of reflex, started running, following the sound of the Pokémon in distress. She discovered a mob of Geodudes, Gravelers, Arons that were picking on a small Pokémon that May has never seen before. It looked like a bat with big ears.

"Hey, knock it off!" May yelled at them. The rock-type Pokémon angrily turned at the sound of her voice, and gave her menacing looks. "Uh-oh..."

The Pokémon left the little bat Pokémon and went after May instead. She screamed, cried and ran off on the opposite way, but then she realized she had to save the little bat.

"Shoot, why am I so nice? I hate myself!"

She turned around and with tears streaming down her face, ran back towards the rock Pokémon that wanted to attack her. She tried her best to dodge them, but one of them tackled her into a wall, almost puncturing her lung. May was about to give up and save herself, but the little bat kept crying, so she had no choice.

With all the power she could muster, she stood up, sprinted towards the bat, picked it up and ran further into the cave with the other Pokémon following her.

"Argh, why won't you leave me alone?" May wept.

She held the injured little Pokémon tight to her chest, protecting it from harm. She looked over her shoulder to see one of the Gravelers going in for a Rollout towards her! Turning right, she just managed to dodge it, and the Graveler rolled into a wall, which caused that wall and the celing to crumble. Big rocks fell down, separating May from the other Pokémon. She sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness."

Her shaking legs bent, making her sit down on the dirty floor. The little Pokémon in her arms was still crying. May carefully pet it.

"It's fine now. You're safe, little guy."

The tiny bat Pokémon opened its eyes and looked at her. It was adorable, she thought. She picked up her Pokédex.

[Noibat: The Sound Wave Pokémon. They live in pitch black caves in Kalos. Even a robust wrestler will become dizzy and unable to stand when exposed to its 200,000-hertz ultrasonic waves.]

"Wow, a Kalos Pokémon", May said with excitement.

The Noibat hugged its savior tight, never letting go of her. May sat there for a while, comfortably stroked the soft little fellow in her arms, until it fell asleep. She decided it was time to get out of the cave, before more Pokémon wanted to attack her.

After several minutes of walking and seeing nothing but more cave, she realized she might be lost.

"Shoot, where's the exit?" She stopped. "Wait, what if that was... _the only entrance and now the path is blocked_!?" She panicked and started crying. "I'm going to die heeere!"

Noibat, who's ears are overly sensitive to sound, woke up by her weeping.

"Noibat, we're lost forever", May whimpered. "I can't find an exit!"

Noibat looked around, climbed onto May's head and looked around the cave. It let out sound waves, so high that May couldn't even hear them, and the listened as the sound bounced on the wall, floor and ceiling. After a while, the ears twitched and Noibat set off flying, following the sound. May ran after it.

They arrived at an intersection, with three dark tunnels. Noibat cried out into all three and listened yet again, then it took the right tunnel.

And finally, May saw light in the distance. "Yeeeeeeessss!" she cried and sprinted to the exit. At last she was out of the cave and back in the sunlight. "Thank goodness!"

She suddenly heard a small _beep_. It came from the step counter. She was out of steps, without catching a single Pokémon...

"Shoot, I have to go..." she said and looked at Noibat.

The Noibat's eyes got filled with tears and it flew into her arms, hugging her tight.

"I'm sorry, Noibat", she whispered sadly. Then she had a thought. "Would you like to come with me?" The bat looked at her with its big eyes. "Come on, it'll be fun! You'll be with me and my Pokémon and you can compete in contest! How's that?"

The Noibat smiled and nodded happily. May took out a safari ball, Noibat touched the button and let itself be caught. May hugged the ball, and then two safari guards came up to her from behind.

"Excuse us, miss. We're here to escort you back!" they said.

Back at the Safari Zone entrance Harley was twirling all happy and smiling. "I just caught myself three new _adorable _Pokémon, honey! How about you?"

May had forgotten about their competition, but in the end it didn't mattered. She shrugged.

"I manage to catch one, right when I was out of steps", she said.

"Oh my, looks like I won then", he said teasingly. "You'll have to treat me to dinner!"

May smiled. "I guess so. Where do you want to eat?"

"Hmph, aren't you even a little annoyed?" Harley seemed disappointed that he wasn't able to taunt her about losing.

"It doesn't matter. I can't win every time we compete, right?" she laughed.

Harley bit his lip. "Hm, fine! I want to eat dinner at the Safari Zone Restaurant, and I want the most expensive food there is."

"Alright then, little miss sunshine. Let's go!"

To May's surprise, dinner with Harley wasn't half bad. For the first time ever they actually managed to talk like friends and have a good time. Though he'll probably never stop teasing and taunting her, she found that Harley had changed a lot ever since they started traveling in Johto.

Maybe they could be friends someday, she thought. Once she could forgive him over the mean things he's done to her, which she was still progressing through. He did watch her compete in the Wallace Cup, after all. So at some level he does care for her. A little bit at least.

"By the way, hon", Harley said when he had finished his dessert. "You know about the Whirlpool Islands, don't you?"

"Those island by Cianwood City?"

"Yes, precisely! Anyway, I heard they're having a contest in Scarlet City. That's on the Red Rock Isle."

"Oh, that's good to know. Are you entering?"

"Oh no, cupcake! I still want you to have a shot, so you can be in the Grand Festival, y'know!"

"How considerate of you. " May rolled her eyes.

"Just so I can beat you, of course."

"Yeah, we'll just see about that!"


	4. Chapter 4 - Larenz Esplain

Larenz Esplain

After a few days, Harley and May left the Safari Zone gates and returned back to Cianwood together. Harley revealed he had captured a Stunky, a Shelmet and a strange looking squid Pokémon called Inkay, that he decided to carry around everywhere.

"Isn't it darling?" Harley said, putting the little Pokémon against his face. "This one will be my new contribution for my team!"

"Great, Harley. It's... something special, alright."

May's Noibat didn't like to stay inside its poké ball and was usually on her head, which reminded her of Ash and Pikachu. Noibat looked at the Inkay with great interest.

"Oh, you like Inkay, sweetness?" Harley asked and put the Inkay right next to Noibat's face, and the poor bat got frightened and fell off May's head and onto her shoulder.

"Harley, stop scaring him!" she growled.

"Oh, hon, I'm sorry!"

Harley decided to get back Olivine City and took the first best ship that would go there. Before saying goodbye, he said:

"Oh, by the way, sweet cheeks. Drew will be at the Scarlet City Contest. Just thought you ought to know!" He grinned, blew her a kiss then he sprinted on board. "Later, toots!"

"Thank goodness he left, I was starting to have another headache", May said to Noibat.

Since she had no more business to deal with in Cianwood, May decided to move on and took a ferry to the Whirl Islands the very next day. She wanted to brush up on her Pokémon and practice with Noibat.

Luckily, there was a small arena on the main deck specifically for training Pokémon, with different objects for attacks, where she and Noibat could explore its techniques.

"Alright, Noibat. Show me what you got", May said. The Pokémon looked at her confused. "You know, your moves. Like that one you used in the cave, what was that?"

"You can see its moves on your Pokédex, you know", said someone behind her.

May turned around. A young man with short brown hair, dressed in a pair of black slacks and shoes, white shirt with a black tie and a red rose in the chest pocket. Next to him stood a Meganium.

"Oh? I can?" May took out her Pokédex from her bag and pointed it to Noibat. Indeed, a window popped up on the screen telling its four moves: Supersonic, Air Cutter, Shadow Claw and Echoed Voice. "Wow, that's great. Thanks- huh?" When May turned around to thank the guy he had already left. "Hm, strange..."

May shrugged and went back to focusing on Noibat instead. She asked to use Supersonic, and it sent out sound waves too high for her to hear.

"That's the move!" she said happily.

Then she ordered it to target Air Cutter at a big bullseye. It flapped it wings, sending a sharp blade of winds making a big slash mark across the bullseye's board.

"That was awesome! Now, use Shadow Claw!"

The bat's claws glowed with a dark purple aura. It flew closer to the target and hit it with dark power, leaving three scratch marks on the board. Next, May told it to use Echoed Voice, and it let out a huge sound wave that made the floor shake and the bullseye they've been practicing on got totally wrecked by the amazing power.

"Oh, wow!" May gasped, realizing how unbelievably strong the little fellow was. She had this contest in a little box.

May continued to practice with Noibat, coming up with a great combination of Echoed Voice, followed by Air Cutter, cutting the sound wave in half spreading a strange sound making it spread and bounce all over the place, like an uneven echo.

However, the waves of sound bounces uncontrollably everywhere, some of them hitting the water. When May noticed what she'd done it was too late. A hoard of enormous Gyarados dove out of the water, presumably looking for whoever caused that noise. They quickly discovered the ship and together the five of them surrounded the ship in rage

"Oh, no! What should I do now!?" May shrieked in panic.

"Solarbeam, Meganium!" someone called out, and one of the Gyarados was hit by a Solarbeam attack, going down back to the ocean.

May turned around, discovered it was the brunette guy from earlier. He called out another one of his Pokémon.

"Electivire, use Thunder!"

A big brute of a Pokémon, looking a lot like an Electabuzz popped out of its poké ball, and sent out a striking lightning from its body, hitting down another Gyarados. He looked down on May.

"Do whatever you can to take them down! Once they figure out who's stronger they'll leave us!" he shouted.

She nodded and called out Munchlax.

"Munchlax, use Solarbeam on the Gyarados!"

Munchlax gathered light from the sun and unleashed it, striking a third Gyarados. However, it only seemed to be slightly injured by it.

_Incredible_, May thought. _That guy's Meganium could hit down one of them with one single hit. He must be very strong._

The guy's Meganium and Electivire took down one Gyarados each again, leaving May with the one in front of her.

"Munchlax, Metronome!"

She crossed her fingers as Munchlax starting waving its fingers, pleading it would be something powerful. The Gyarados prepared some sort of attack, and it spitted out a powerful Hyper Beam. Munchlax's Metronome unleashed too. A Flamethrower, though not doing much damage at all on the foe, it managed to outperform the Hyper Beam. Gyarados had to rest to regain its energy. May took her chance.

"Munchlax, Solarbeam! And Noibat, Echoed Voice!"

Noibat's Echoed Voice tied together with Munchlax's Solarbeam made a magnificent combo, uniting with light and sound. It struck the Gyarados with extreme power, making it faint and fall back into the sea. May sighed in relief and fell down on her knees.

"Thank goodness, it worked."

She heard people around her applauding. They were praising both her Pokémon and the guy too, thanking them for defeating the Gyaradoses. May looked over to the guy, who walked away from the group of grateful people surrounding him. She ran after him.

"Hey, wait!" she shouted after him. He stopped and glanced at her. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me. That was really nice."

"No problem", he said.

"Your Pokémon are really strong, taking down four of them."

"Thanks. Your Pokémon are good, too."

The guy seemed to be very short on words and kept his voice in monotone, but May wasn't done talking to him.

"Well, anyway. My name's May. What's yours?"

"Larenz Esplain." To her surprise he turned his body around to face her properly. "You're a Pokémon Coordinator, aren't you?"

"Oh, yes. How did you know?"

"The way you handled the last attack, with a combination of Echoed Voice and Solarbeam isn't something you'd see from a regular Pokémon Trainer."

May blushed. "Oh, thank you!"

"I'm guessing you just captured that Noibat?" he asked and nodded towards Noibat.

"Yeah, we haven't really been able to practice our moves before..."

"Hm, I see. Would you like to battle against me?

"Oh, really? I'd love to!"

He simply nodded. She didn't really understand what the guy was all about, but he seemed nice, even though he didn't display any emotion really.

They went back to the training field. Larenz demanded a 1-on-1 battle against Noibat, and May accepted it. He himself sent out an Umbreon.

"You go first", he said.

"Alright! Noibat, use Supersonic!"

Noibat sent out a Supersonic towards Umbreon.

"Double Team", he commanded and his Pokémon immediately cloned itself, and Supersonic missed. "Now, use Dark Pulse."

The big team of Umbreon all sent out dark pulses all coming towards Noibat.

"Noibat, dodge!" Noibat, petrified and not knowing where to go got struck of the Dark Pulse. She noticed that it got hit on the right side. "Oh! Noibat, use Air Cutter to your right!"

The bat sent out an Air Cutter, and hit the real Umbreon, breaking its concentration of Double Team.

"Now, follow up with Echoed Voice."

Noibat attacked with the echoing voice, and Umbreon got hit again. But to her surprise, Larenz smiled.

"Umbreon, Payback."

Umbreon charged at Noibat quickly, hitting with incredible power that knocked Noibat to the ground.

"Oh, no! Noibat, get up!"

"Dark Pulse."

Noibat couldn't move away in time and was hit by the dark attack. It was over. May knew that her Pokémon couldn't go on fighting. She ran towards her poor bat and picked it up.

"I'm sorry, Noibat. Are you okay?"

"Noi..." it said weakly and looked at her with tired eyes.

"You did really good. You deserve a long good rest", she said and sent it back to her poké ball. "Good battle. You're really strong!" May complimented her opponent.

He called Umbreon back. "For a Pokémon you just caught, it's impressive", he said simply. "We'll meet again."

Larenz turned and walked away.

_I'm sure we will_, she thought.

She went to the Pokémon Center on the boat and left Munchlax and Noibat there to heal, before grabbing something to eat. As she sat down at a table of her own in a restaurant, a blonde girl approached her. She was wearing a purple sundress, with black boots and in her hair she had a black ribbon.

"Hi, can I help you?" May asked.

"You're May from Hoenn, right? Pokémon Coordinator?" the girl said.

"Yes, that's me."

"Wow, I thought I recognized you!" the girl said happily. "I'm Laura! I've seen you in contests over the past few years. You're really good!"

"Wow, thank you."

"I'm guessing you know Drew, right?"

That was unexpected... Actually it wasn't. Whenever girls talked to her about contests, they always end up talking about him, too. For some reason it kind of annoyed her.

"Yes, I do", May answered as pleasantly she could. "How did you know that?"

"Oh, I've seen you two competing against each other many times. You two are practically famous for your rivalry, you know."

May didn't know what to respond to that. She never even thought people paid attention to who was facing whom, let alone which were their rivals.

"So, do you have close contact with Drew?" Laura asked.

_She seems awfully curious about Drew_, she thought. "I bump into him from time to time."

"Oh? So you know where he's going next?"

"Well, I've heard she's going to be in the Scarlet City Contest..."

"Really?" Laura seemed excited. "Wow, that's great!"

"Do you... know Drew, or are you just a big fan of his?"

"Oh, I guess I'm a little of both", she laughed. "Thank you, May. I'll see you at the contest!"

Laura left.

_She only talked to me to get information about Drew... I really hope she won't be causing me or him any trouble._

May ate the rest of her food in peace. She later went back to the Pokémon Center and took her Pokémon back. She walked up to the main deck. At the distance she could see the islands. She could see one island with yellow mountains and another island, with mountains that had a red glow to them, and figured it must be Red Rock Isle, where Scarlet City was.

She tightened her fists, ready for the challenge that was waiting for her.

* * *

**Larenz Esplain is not my OC. He was created by Devon2016, who submitted the character for this fanfiction. Thank you~!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Drew and Laura

Drew and Laura

May had been preparing for the contest in over a week. She was now a hundred percent confident with her Pokémon and which of her team she'd use: Noibat in first round, Blaziken in second. Noibat was a natural in performing and she still needed to work on its battling.

Despite the fact that she'd been all over the city, she still haven't seen Drew, nor Larenz or Laura for that matter. She figured they probably were elsewhere, but she couldn't help feeling a little bit alone, not having anyone to talk to really. She called Jasmine once and they had a good talk. Jasmine told her that everything was fine with her Ampharos and that it was guarding the egg at all times. She then went on saying she battled and lost to a girl named Lyra, who had an impressive team; including a Bayleef and a Houndour.

May also called home to her parents and brother. Her mom answered, though as soon as he heard May's voice, Max came rushing to the phone and couldn't stop talking to her.

"May, I miss you", he cried.

"I miss you, too, Max", May said softly. "Sometimes I wish I had you with me..."

It was true. Though she made her choice to travel alone, and that was the best choice she could make, she really did miss traveling with someone. She missed her brother the most. She missed Ash and Brock, too.

"It's not too late, I can come to Johto!" Max said excitedly.

"Oh, no, you can't!" Mom interrupted and pinched his cheek. "Sorry, May, but you can't have him back", she said to May and laughed.

She laughed, too.

They both promised come and see her at the Grand Festival too cheer for her. An announcement like that made her even more excited for it.

When there were only a day left to the contest, May was going to her favorite noodle bar by the beach, when she noticed someone by the water; Drew!

Her heart started pounding faster, and she rushed down the beach to greet him.

"Drew!"

He turned around, and seeing her made him smile. "Hi, May. I see you're here, too."

"Yeah, I heard you'd be here."

"From who?"

"Harley! I met him in Cianwood City. He said you had watched the Wallace Cup?"

"Oh... Well, yeah..."

"Yeah, so what did you think?"

"I thought that Dawn was a very impressive coordinator, and I wasn't surprised she beat you", Drew said with a cocky voice.

"Thanks..."

He smiled. "And you were really good, too", he added.

She was about to say something else when she saw someone running up to them behind Drew.

"DREW!? Is that really you?"

Before he could turned around, a girl had thrown her arms around him from behind. It was the girl Laura, that May had met on the ship.

"Oh, my gosh! It really is you!" She squeezed him harder.

"You?"

"L-Laura?" Drew gasped.

_So they did know each other_.

"Yeah, it's me! Together again", she giggled and let him go only to grab his arm instead. "Did you miss me?" Her face got closer to his, and he backed away.

"U-uh... What are you doing here?" he asked as sweat ran down his face and neck.

May's never seen him _this _uncomfortable with anyone. They must have a complicated history. She thought about intervening, but she didn't know what to say.

"I'm here for you, silly!" she said and put her head on his chest. He tried his best to get loose from her, but she only held him tighter. "I've missed you! How come you never came to visit home?"

She had tears in her eyes.

"I told you that in the letter", he said angrily. "Let go of me!"

"No, not after all these years! I won't ever let you go again!" She cried for real now.

Drew managed to force himself free from her grip. He backed away from Laura to stand next to May instead.

"Laura, I've left it all behind. Do yourself a favor and do the same thing."

"How... how can you say something like that? Why are you like this? Why did you leave me?"

May looked over at Drew. He seemed really ill at ease by this girl.

"Hey, he doesn't want to talk to you", she said and took a step in front of Drew. "Leave him be!"

"Excuse me, but who are you to decide what he wants and doesn't want? This doesn't concern you, _May_! Leave us, so we can talk in private."

May looked over her shoulder at Drew, and saw it in his eyes that he really needed rescue, so she turned back to Laura. "No."

"Hey, why are you defending him? You're his rival, not his girlfriend!"

May blushed in anger. "Well, I am his friend!"

"Friend or not, you have no idea what's going on. If you're his friend, do you know about his past? Or about me?"

"... Well, no, but..."

"Exactly! How close can you claim you are to Drew if you don't even know anything about him?"

This time, Drew stepped forward an put an arm in front May. "Leave May out of this."

"Hmph, you care about her?" Laura seemed enraged. "Why haven't you told her about us, or about your past, _Drew_?"

"..." He couldn't say anything.

"If he wanted to tell me, he'd tell me!" May shouted at her. "And if he doesn't want to, then it's none of my business!"

"May..." Drew said. "You should probably go."

"Hm, why?"

"Because I don't want you to deal with her. She can be pretty difficult."

Laura went closer to them and looked angrier than ever. "You... Do you care about her?" she said between her teeth.

Drew looked her dead in the eye, and calmly responded "Yes."

"I see... Can I talk to her in private for a minute?"

He raised his arm to block May from Laura. "No!"

"I'm not going to hurt her! What do you take me for?"

May lowered his arm. "Drew, it's fine. I can deal with her."

He looked at her. "Okay, but..." He lowered his voice so only she could hear him. "If she says anything about my past... Promise me you won't think less of me."

She looked at him confused. "I... promise..."

He walked away from them. May looked at the blonde girl, whose eyes were burning with anger.

"Alright, listen here. I'm challenging you!"

"To what?"

"Whoever wins in tomorrow's contest gets to out with Drew."

May was taken aback. "Uh, excuse me?"

"Oh, please! As if you don't want to?"

"Uh..." May was blushing again. "B-but shouldn't it be up to him who he wants to go out with?"

She snorted. "Sure, in a perfect world, maybe. But in love and war, everything's fair. Now, if I win, you leave me and Drew alone and don't interfere!"

"And if I win?"

"I'll leave you and Drew alone."

_It's not that I want to go out with him. But Drew clearly didn't want to speak to her or talk about his past. If she won he wouldn't have to deal with Laura. She could help Drew on this one._

"What if none of us win the contest?" May asked.

"Hm... Alright, let's say it like this: If we battle each other, the one who wins over the other wins this challenge. If neither of us wins the contest, and haven't met in a match yet, then it depends on our rank in the contest, and if we're ranked at same place, it's how much point we have left. You get me?"

"I... think so..."

"Good, now do you accept?"

"Fine!"

It went quiet for a while.

"You know, Drew and I are from LaRousse City", Laura said all of a sudden. "We grew up together, went to Trainer School together, we were even boyfriend and girlfriend..."

"Oh."

"Until, out of nowhere, he was gone. He'd left the city without telling me, only left me a break-up letter."

_If she says anything about my past... Promise me you won't think less of me._ Drew's desperate words echoed in her head.

"Do you want to know what it said?" Laura asked.

"...Actually, no", May said simply. "If he wants to tell me someday, he will."

Laura looked at her with an eyes of either sadness or anger. Or maybe both. "You're not even a little interested?"

May shook her head. "No."

"...You really trust him a lot."

May nodded. "I do."

"If I tell you what he wrote... You'll probably lose all respect of him."

"So maybe it's for the best that I don't know... But I could never lose my trust and respect in him."

"Even if you knew what he did?" Laura seemed shocked.

"Whatever he did, or said, or wrote in the past doesn't matter. Because there's only one Drew I've gotten to know, and that's the person he's always been to me. Whatever he did in his past can't affect the image I have of Drew now. So it won't matter if I knew or not, but... he didn't want me to know, so I'll respect his will."

Laura looked at May, astounded by what she'd just said. "That's... really admirable, actually..." she admitted.

May left the beach and went back to the noodle bar and ordered bowl after bowl of her favorite ramen. When she was done, someone patted her on her shoulder from behind.

"Drew!" May said in surprise.

"Hey..." He glanced down at his feet, getting ready to say something. He took a deep breath, looked her straight in her eyes and said: "Did... she say anything... about..."

"Yes."

"Great", he sighed. "Okay, May let me explain-"

She put a finger on his mouth. "You don't need to explain anything, Drew."

"Huh?"

"She told me that you were together, and that you left her, leaving only a letter behind... But I told her I didn't want to know about the letter, or anything."

"You did...? Why?"

"I thought about what you said... and I figured that if you don't want to tell me, then I don't want to know at all."

"That... I... Uh..." He swallowed. "Thanks, May..."

He gave her a genuine smile, and she couldn't help to smile back, all the while feeling a blush in her cheeks and Butterfrees in her stomach.


	6. Chapter 6 - Scarlet City Contest: Part 1

Scarlet City Contest: Part 1

**Johto Pokémon Contest Rules:**

In a contest you are allowed to use up to two Pokémon: One for _Performance_ and one for _Battling_.

During the _Performance_, you will have 60 seconds to show the three judges your Pokémon moves. The judges will score you and your Pokémon from 1-10, judging by skill, beauty and how in-sync you are with your Pokémon.

Our regular judges are:

**Mr. Raoul Contesta**, Chief of the Pokémon Activities Committee

**Mr. Sukizo**, Top Coordinator

The City or Town's own **Nurse Joy**

Johto Pokémon Contest announcer: **Adrian Meridian**

After the first round, the 8 coordinators who have scored the highest point move on to the second round, _Battling._

The eight coordinators will be randomly shuffled into four groups of two, where they will be facing each other in a limit of 5 minutes per battle. During this time, coordinators must show off strength, beauty and strategy in order to make his or her opponent to drop point.

You lose if:

Your Pokémon are knocked out

Your points run out, or

You have the least points when the time runs out

**Cheating of any kind is strictly forbidden and will make you disqualified!**

**Dress Code**: Casual, if nothing else is said.

* * *

May took a deep breath, waiting for the contest to start. She was sitting in backstage together with Drew, looking at the TV-screen that showed the arena. It was big and had open roof as well as an optional pool, if you want to perform with a water type Pokémon.

Finally, the MC Adrian showed up on stage. Adrian was the younger brother of Vivian, Lilian and Marian Meridian. He had brown curly hair, like his sisters, but shorter. Usually dressed in a pair of jeans tucked in big black boots, a short-sleeved shirt with a checkered bow tie, a black fedora hat and a headset. Much like Lilian, he was very energized, but sometimes could talk on a little too long. However, he's a big favorite making everyone, including the judges, laugh.

"[Alright, everyone! Are you READY!?]" Adrian's voice echoed in the sound systems. The crowd screamed in excitement. "[That's what I like to hear! Welcome to the Scarlet City! Known for its phenomenal Whirl Cup every third year, but in recent years it's even more famous for the contest. Here we have a stage where you can take advantage of the ground, the sky, the sunlight _and _the water. Now, get ready to meet our very special judges; not your usual Mr. Contesta and Mr. Sukizo, because sadly they're judging a contest in Sinnoh.]"

There's a big disappointed "Aww..." in the audience.

"[Don't pout, because have two amazing special guest judges: let me introduce you to ROBERT!]"

Behind the judges desk where Mr. Contesta would be stood a very familiar face; Robert, who won the Grand Festival in Hoenn.

"[Robert here has been widely known as the winner of the Hoenn Region's Grand Festival for about a year and a half. But he started his journey from our neighbor island: Silver Rock Isle. Give him a round of applause!]"

The audience went nuts. Robert gracefully bowed down.

"[Our next guest judge is the beautiful Top Coordinator Marina, from New Bark Town!"]

A young girl, a few years senior to May, with blue hair, a white short jacket, red top and bike shorts, waved happily out to the audience. Even more people screamed.

"[And of course, as every contest, Scarlet City's very own NURSE JOY!"]

"It's an honor to be here!" Nurse Joy said in her microphone.

"[And it's an honor to have you all here, dear judges! Now, I bet you're all excited for this contest, am I right!?"

The crowd all yelled, whistled and applauded. He sure knows how to get them fired up.

"[That's what I want to here, otherwise this would be totally useless, I mean, the whole point is-]"

"Adrian!" Nurse Joy interrupted. "Get on with it, please!"

"[Oh, right! Well, let's not waste any time. Three, two, one! CONTEST!]"

Someone in the backstage room left and soon he was up on stage. The show had started. May was going in fifth. Drew was tenth. The third person on stage turned out to be the guy Larenz she had met on the boat. The camera zoomed in on his face. Only now did May notice his honey colored eyes.

He threw a poké ball up in the air, and came a graceful Ninetales, its fur shimmered in the sunlight.

"Wow", May gasped.

"Ninetales, Will-O-Wisp", Larenz commanded and several blue fire balls appeared around Ninetales. "Flame Wheel."

The Ninetales burst into flames. The red and yellow fire, mixed with the blue created a beautiful fire storm around it. The entire audience were entranced with the Pokémon's magnificent powers. It whipped its nine tails, and the fire disappeared.

Robert was the first one to speak up. "Incredible way of showing off a Ninetales' fire powers. Just marvelous."

"Indeed", Marina agreed. "The colors of the flames was something I will never forget."

"The way the fur reflects in the light is proof of a happy Pokémon", Joy said happily.

"[The judges seemed to like it. Now let's look at the score... Whoa, 29.5! Very impressive!]"

When Larenz got backstage again, May approached him.

"Wow, Larenz. That was really amazing!"

"Thanks", he said and passed her. "Good luck to you."

"Thank you", May smiled. She looked over at Drew who was watching her with a frown on his face. "What?"

"Huh? Nothing." He shook it off and glared at the screen instead.

It was May's turn now. On stage she clasped her safari ball with Noibat and held it tightly. "Let's give it our all", she whispered to it. "Noibat, take the stage!"

Noibat popped up, happy and fired up. There was a big "Aww" in the audience.

"[Wow, what an adorable little Pokémon! You don't see many of those in this region.]"

"Echoed Voice and then Air Cutter!"

The combination worked perfectly, making the echoed voice bounce everywhere, it even hit the water, and the audience listened intently for the strange echo that filled the stage.

"[What an unbelievable sound we're having here. Incredible! What do our judges think?]"

"Cutting a sound attack is a remarkably inventive way to show off a Pokémon's power. Phenomenal!" Robert said.

"To show off a cute Pokémon with power is the best way to play with expectations! Loved it!" Marina praised.

"Sound is an unusual and very risky strategy, but if it's done right, it's the sound of a very talented coordinator!"

The judges gave May 29.0 and she could barely believe it. She embraced Noibat. "That was awesome!"

When she went backstage, Drew was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Laura was sitting on the bench where he sat. May bit her lip in annoyance and walked straight up to her.

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?" she snapped.

"What?" Laura said with a cocky voice.

"Where's Drew?"

"I don't know", Laura sighed and flipped her hair the way Drew used to do it, which made May even angrier. "The toilet perhaps?"

"Why are you sitting at his seat?"

"What, did he claim it or something?"

"I know you're doing it just to annoy me, so cut it!"

"Well, if I'm doing that then I'd say I'm winning", Laura teased and stuck out her tongue.

"Hmph..."

"Oh, now it's my turn!" She got up and left the room. "When I'm back I hope you can at least try to hide your jealousy."

May angrily sat down with red cheeks and stubbornly stared at her feet.

Laura sent out a Zebstrika. With a combination of Flame Charge and Agility she made the audience and the judges really happy, and she got a 27.5.

May smiled to herself. "Not good enough."

Drew didn't return to the room, but soon enough he was out on stage. He called out a Kingdra that gracefully dived into the pool.

_Wow_!

He ordered the Kingdra to use Twister, and a whirlpool of wind and water appeared underneath it, swirling up with itself on top. The crowd was roaring.

"Now, Dragon Dance!"

A blue and purple aura shone around Kingdra and its started dancing on top of the twister whirlpool.

"Astounding way of showing off Kingdra's dragon powers!" Roberts said.

"Beautiful", Marina sighed, all entranced.

"Drew and Kingdra makes it look effortless, but I'm sure this must have been _months _of practicing!" Nurse Joy commented.

They gave him 29.6!

"Drew does it again..." May said to herself.

When Drew returned backstage, he didn't even acknowledged May, and he went to some lonely corner and leaned against a wall.

_What's with him_?

She figured she ought to ignore him too, and went over to Larenz, who was at the other side of the room alone with his Meganium. May noticed its short antennas, meaning it was female.

"Hey", she said nicely.

"Hello."

"I'm guessing you will be using Meganium in the second round?"

"Yes."

She smiled. "Is she your first Pokémon ever?"

"She is."

The Meganium nuzzled with May's face, and she petted it on the nose. "She's wonderful."

Larenz didn't say anything, but gave her a short nod.

"So, where are you from, Larenz?"

"Goldenrod City. And you?"

"I'm from Petalburg City, Hoenn. My dad's the Gym Leader there. I also have a mom and a little brother named Max."

"A little brother, huh..."

"What about you? Do you have a family?"

"I do..." His voice sounded sad.

"You.. don't want to talk about it?" she asked carefully.

"... I have little brother just like you."

"Oh, what's his name?"

"Tyler. He's seven", he said very serious. "He's sick and is in a coma."

May went quiet. The sudden bomb of truth made her entire body ice cold. She had no idea what to say. A picture of Max in a hospital bed not waking up popped up in her head.

"You don't have to say anything", Larenz told her. "I set off to win the Johto Grand Festival, a million Pokémon dollar price, so I can help my brother and pay for his operations that he needs to stay alive."

"...Oh... I'm... so sorry..."

"Are you saying that so she would feel sorry for you?" Drew had walked up to them.

"What!?" May exclaimed. "Drew...!"

"If you think can win this thing out of pity, then you're a bad excuse for a Pokémon Coordinator."

"I'm not. I'm just making sure she understands that I won't stop for anything."

Larenz called back his Meganium and went to the other side of the room. May turned to Drew in rage.

"What's wrong with you? How can you say something like that? Don't you understand his brother-"

"I'm just making sure you're not going to let him win out of pity, May. You have a tendency to give up on yourself in order to please others."

"What? When have I ever-"

"Like the Grand Festival in Hoenn, where you kept doing what Harley suggested instead of trusting your own instincts."

"B-but, come on! That's almost two years ago! And I don't think Larenz said that to make me feel sorry for him."

"Oh, please, May. You've always been gullible and you trust people way too easily. You're too nice for your own good."

Her body was shaking with anger. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and glared at him, enraged. Her eyes were full of tears.

"_You _try and picture _your _little brother in a coma!"

Drew's eyes widened. He had never seen her this angry before. He tried to apologize, but she'd already fled the room with tears streaming down her face.

She ran into the halls, found a lonesome room and sat down to cry. She imagined Max in comatose, herself crying and Drew sighing, saying that he won't feel bad for her for something like that. How could he so cruel, saying stuff like that?

She wanted to shake off the image of Max lifeless body but it was stuck in her brain forever now. And so were Drew's words.

"_Are you saying that so she would feel sorry for you?"_

"_You have a tendency to give up on yourself to please others."_

"_You're too nice for your own good."_

She suddenly heard Adrian's voice echo in the sound systems outside.

"[Alright, that's all from round one folk!]"

In a flinch, she got up and sprinted back to the backstage room, wiping her tears while running.

"[We have the result, and here are the eight coordinators moving on to the second round!]"

She made it just in time to see the eight people; She was in third place, Drew was first, Larenz was second. Laura was fifth. They scrambled them all in and revealed who was battling whom.

May was in group A, Laura in B, Drew in C and Larenz in D.

_If she and I win the first battle, Laura and I'll battle in the semi-finals._

She looked over at Drew. He didn't even seem aware that she was there. Laura went and stood beside her.

"I hope you win your first battle", she said.

"Why's that?"

"So I can see the look on your face when I beat you!"

"Hm, too bad that will never happen, because I'll beat you!"

May went up against a guy with an Ivysaur, that Blaziken defeated before the clock had 3 minutes left. Laura battled with her Azumarill and won over a girl and her Illumise. Drew and Roserade beat a girl and her Solrock in less than two minutes. Larenz's Meganium manage to defeat a boy's Miltank after 45 seconds.

Next up was May vs Laura. She had seen Azumarill using Bubblebeam, Ice Beam, Rollout and Bulldoze. She was going up against a huge disadvantage, but she's had tougher encounters before. And Drew's Pokémon has always had a disadvantage against her Pokémon, but still manage to put up a tough fight, and only once had he lost to her.

"May can kiss that date goodbye", Laura said to herself. "This battle is _mine_."


	7. Chapter 7 - Scarlet City Contest: Part 2

Scarlet City Contest: Part 2

"[After a thrilling start of round 2, we now move on to the semi-finals! First up is May vs Laura!]"

May called out her Blaziken. Laura sent out her Azumarill. The clock started to count down.

"Azumarill, use Bulldoze." The ground started to shake intensely, which made Blaziken fall. May lost a few points. "Good, now Rollout!"

The ground was still shaking as the Azumarill came rolling toward Blaziken. "Use fire spin to lift yourself up!" May called out. Blaziken directed its fire attack downwards, and Azumarill missed and rolled right in the flames. "Now, Blaze Kick!"

Blaziken fell down with a fired up leg and landed a clean hit on Azumarill.

"[May used two ruthless fire type attacks in a row, and that will cost some points for Laura.]"

"Amazing strategy to use Blaziken's fire to both dodge and attack all the while looking strong and beautiful", Robert commented.

"Bubblebeam!" Laura exclaimed.

Sparkling bubbles were fired towards Blaziken.

"Dodge it!" May yelled.

"Oh, no, you don't! Azumarill, Bulldoze!"

Azumarill shook up the ground again, causing Blaziken to trip before it could jump, and the Bubblebeam hit full force.

"[Clever of Laura! Using Bulldoze to stop Blaziken from dodging. That's a great point loss for May]"

"Now, Azumarill, Rollout!"

Azumarill was coming in fast, and Blaziken had no time to dodge and was hit again. Laura's Pokémon kept on rolling, made a u-turn and was going in faster this time. Blaziken managed to sit up.

"Blaziken, block it with Sky Uppercut!"

Blaziken right arm glowed, and it hit Azumarill and made its Rollout fail. "Good, now Blaze Kick!" Blaziken fired up its leg and sent its foe flying. "Now, Sky Uppercut again!"

May's Pokémon dragged it's arm on the ground while running, charging its attack. Then it jumped up and hit it right in the stomach. A severe point loss for Laura.

"No! Azumarill, Bubblebeam!"

Azumarill shoot out bubbles again, however May was faster:

"Overheat!" The great power in Blaziken's fire outdid the Bubblebeam and struck Azumarill full force. "Hit it down with Blaze Kick!"

It kicked Azumarill down and the poor Pokémon fell down fast. May realized that it would be hurt badly from that height.

"Blaziken, grab onto it!"

The Pokémon obeyed its trainer, landing with its foe in its arms. The judges adjudicated that as Azumarill was defeated.

"[That didn't take long! The obvious winners are May and Blaziken!]"

Laura stood there, stunned and pale. "N-no way... She won?" She started pulling her hair. "NO WAYYYY!"

Blaziken went over to her and handed her Azumarill over. Laura looked at it with disgust, called back her Pokémon and left. May shrugged, ran over to her Pokémon and hugged it.

"Blaziken, you were awesome!"

About a minute earlier, in the backstage room:

Drew was watching the battle on the TV-screen and Larenz was sitting on a bench minding his own business. There were just the two of them in the room; the rest of the coordinators were watching the contest among the audience.

"Uh, hey..." Drew said to Larenz.

"What?"

"I, uhm. I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I was being rude..."

"Hm."

"I shouldn't have judged you like that and... I'm sorry about your brother."

"Whatever, it's not like your comments affected me in any way", Larenz said. "I don't care what anyone says or thinks of me. It doesn't change what I think or feel."

"I see..."

"But the girl is not like that", Larenz added.

"You mean May?"

"She cares about how you see her... If there's anyone who deserves an apology, it's her."

"_Blaziken, grab onto it_!" Drew heard May's voice from the TV-screen.

He looked up and saw that May had ordered her Blaziken to catch Azumarill before it hit the ground.

"[That didn't take long! The obvious winners are May and Blaziken!]"

"She defeated Laura..."

"Hm, maybe 'to nice for her own good' isn't a bad thing", Larenz pointed out. "See you on stage."

Larenz left the room. Drew stood there watching May happily embrace her Blaziken. He smiled at the sight of her looking happy and felt a stung of guilt.

He walked out of the room, on his way to the battle field. In the hallway he met a frustrated Laura.

"Urgh, that little shrew, how could she- Oh, Drew!"

"Looks like May beat you", Drew said with an amused voice.

"Hmph, this time maybe..." She passed him in anger.

Drew shrugged and went out to face Larenz.

Just before he went out to the stage, Larenz met May in the hallway, smiling and hugging her poké ball.

"Oh, hey, Larenz!" she said cheerfully. "Good luck out there!"

"Thanks." They passed each other. "Your friend apologized."

"Huh, what?" May turned around, but he was already out.

_Drew apologized..._?

She went back to the backstage room, and saw Laura sulking in a corner.

"Hmph, you may have won this battle, _May_, but you haven't won the war!"

May shrugged. "Whatever." She sat down to watch Drew's and Larenz's battle. Laura got up and took a seat next to her. "What is it now?"

Laura took out two pieces of paper from her pocket. "Here", she said and handed them over to May.

"What are those?"

"Coupons to a nice buffet in the city. I was going to take Drew there, but since I lost the bet, they're yours."

May returned them to Laura. "You can keep them. I didn't win the battle because of our stupid bet."

"Oh, yeah?"

"I won because I want to be a Top Coordinator, and if the only reason you're competing in Pokémon Contests is for a guy, then you're a _bad excuse for a Pokémon Coordinator_!"

Suddenly, saying those words, May understood what Drew was talking about earlier.

Laura was taken aback. "Uh... Uhm..." She looked down at her lap in shame. "Maybe you're right..."

Only one minute left on the clock, the score were down to around ten percent on both sides. Meganium and Roserade were equally strong, it would seem.

"Meganium, Vine Whip!"

The Vine Ship took a hold onto Roserade, and threw it up in the air.

"Roserade, point your Magical Leaf backwards!" Roserade pointed its arms behind its back, and the storm of glowing leaves gave it a boost to get closer to Meganium. "Poison Jab!"

Roserade hit full force with a powerful poison attack right at Meganium's face.

"Solarbeam, Meganium."

The strong sun gave Meganium instant light and the Solarbeam and she blew Roserade away with blinding light. Roserade landed flat on its back, knocked out, with 10 seconds left on the clock. Drew lost the rest of his points.

"No!"

"[That's it for Drew and Roserade! After and exciting battle it's Larenz and his Meganium that move on to the finals!"]

_Larenz and I in the finals... Not even Drew could beat him._

Out on the stage again, May whispered good luck into Blaziken's poké ball. Larenz stood cool and collected on the other side, ready to go.

"Meganium, go!"

"Blaziken, the stage is yours!"

Meganium and Blaziken appeared on stage, both pumped and ready.

"[The finals are on! Three, two, one, START!"

"Blaziken, Fire Spin!"

"Meganium, Razor Leaf!"

The leaves dove into the fire and stopped it, making it rain leaves on fire on Blaziken.

"[Meganium stops Blaziken's attack with a powerful Razor Leaf. That will cost some points for May!]"

"Now, use Vine Whip."

Vines grabbed onto Blaziken's leg.

"Blaze Kick!" Blaziken set its leg on fire, burning Meganium and made it let go. "Now, use the vines to get closer!"

Blaziken hopped onto one of the vines as Meganium were detracting them. She tried to shake it off, but Blaziken jumped up just in time.

"Fire Spin!"

Meganium had no time to dodge or counter, and was struck by Blaziken's fire.

"[Good thinking of May using the Vine Whip to her advantage, and she's in the lead!]"

"Solarbeam!"

Meganium unleashed a powerful beam of light before May or Blaziken could even blink, and her Pokémon was thrown backwards.

"[Whoa, it didn't take long for that Solarbeam to load! It must me the great sunshine we're having. Powerful and beautiful at the same time!]"

_Sunshine... He's using the sunlight to his advantage, making a two-turn attack into one... If I could block the sun somehow..._

"Meganium, use Vine Whip and throw Blaziken up in the air."

Meganium's vines wrapped themselves around Blaziken's waist, and lunged it in the air.

_This is it._

"Blaziken, spin and block out the sun!"

Blaziken spun around in the air, like Wartortle's Rapid Spin, and got itself right above Meganium, with the sun in the back. Blaziken dove down, speeding towards Meganium.

"Solarbeam!"

Meganium tried collecting sunlight, but Blaziken's shadow made it slow down the process.

"OVEHEAT!"

As Blaziken fired down the Overheat on Meganium, an image popped up in May's head. Max's body in a hospital bed, out cold, his heart beating slowly, not hearing her pleading for him to wake up...

One minute left.

Meganium seemed to be done. Blaziken's Overheat had made a huge impact on her, as well as a big point loss for Larenz. May was going to win. So why did her heart feel so heavy?

50 seconds.

"Meganium, Synthensis."

Meganium glowed and charged up her health. May did nothing.

45.

"Razor Leaf."

May ordered Blaziken to block with Blaze Kick, though it didn't do much, and Blaziken was hit anyways.

35.

"Vine Whip, and then Solarbeam!"

Meganium once again wrapped its vines around Blaziken, this time immobilizing its arms and legs. The Solarbeam was unleashed.

25.

A Fire Spin failed to protect Blaziken from the Solarbeam and it was a critical hit.

20.

"Sky Uppercut!"

"Vine Whip!"

15.

Meganium took a hold on Blaziken's arms, stopping it from attacking.

10.

"Fire Spin!"

"Razor Leaf!"

5.

An explosion of fire and leaves whirled up dirt in the air.

0.

"[Time's up! And when the smoke settles we'll see that the winner... is... is... Alright, ladies and gentlemen! After a really intense battle, our winner is... LARENZ AND MEGANIUM!]"

May fell down on her knees. Not because of disappointment, but rather relief. She gave it her all, but Larenz still won... and got one step closer saving his little brother. She couldn't do anything else but smile. She walked over to Blaziken and praised it for its hard work in the battle. She then went over to Larenz.

"That was an awesome battle", she said.

"You put up a great fight, May", Larenz replied and put his hand in front of her.

She took his hand in hers. For a brief moment she could hint a smile in his face. Maybe he isn't entirely stone-faced after all...

The Contest was over and Larenz received the beautiful Scarlet City Ribbon; the golden piece was in shape of a sun, and the fabric sparkled in red. Adrian announced that this was Larenz fifth won ribbon, and he was ready for the Grand Festival, that would take place in _three months_!

"[That means five more contest before the Grand Festival, everyone!]"

_Shoot._

In the backstage room:

Drew was about to exit, when Laura approached him. She handed him two coupons.

"What's this?"

"May and I had a bet where the one closest to victory would go on a date with you", she told him.

"What?"

"Yeah, but when I gave her these coupons she declined. So, here's the deal: I'm giving them to you, and you can choose which one you want to spend them on. Those are coupons for a really nice restaurant with a buffet. Give them to whoever you'd like."

Drew looked at the coupons. "Hm, I guess I'll keep them here", he said and put them in his pocket.

"So you're saying you're going out with May?"

"That depends... if she wants to."

"Hm, why wouldn't she?"

"Well, we had a bit of a blowout earlier... I said things I shouldn't have and she got angry with me."

"Huh..."

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just that you haven't really change, like I thought you did..." Laura looked at him as if she's trying to solve a puzzle. "You've always been that type of person that..."

"That... what?"

"I don't know, you just... you have a problem with people that don't think the same way as you..."

He didn't deny it.

May was incredibly nice. Way more nice than him, than Solidad, than anyone he's ever met. And yet he kept being annoyed by her...

Maybe because he hated to see her feelings hurt. The way she trust people, pity people, help people. She's even nice to people like Harley who've, time after time, proven to not deserve her kindness. No one ever seemed to appreciate it enough...

Or maybe because he just didn't want her to lose herself in order to help others all the time. Like in the battle. She was close to win, until a part of her just gave up. For a guy she barely knew, for his little brother that she never met. She gave up a part of her dream for them. She would be denying it, of course, but he knew.

Because that's just who she was. So selfless. So kind. So trusting. So strong.

And he didn't deserve her...

Maybe he should be with a self-absorbed brat like Laura. Wasn't that who he was as well?

"What are you thinking about?" Laura asked.

"Nothing..." he handed the coupons back. "See ya."

He turned and walked away from there.

Later, by the evening, May was sitting on the warm sand at the beach, watching a beautiful sunset. The sky had a mix of red, orange, pink and purple.

She pulled her legs up and put her arms on her knees. As she stared at the sun slowly disappearing behind the horizon, she couldn't help thinking about Drew; about eight months ago or so, when they were watching the sunset in Fennel Valley after their battle. When he announced he was going to Johto.

And all of a sudden he was standing next to her.

"Hi", he said softly.

"H-hi..." she stuttered.

"Mind if I join you?"

"No... I don't mind..."

He sat down beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess."

"I'm sorry about your loss..."

"It's fine... I'm not too bothered by it, really..."

"You look sad, though."

"I'm not sad over my loss."

"I understand." Drew collected courage and turned to her. "I'm sorry, May..."

She looked at him, only giving him a saddened face in response.

"I was a jerk before. The things I said about you... I didn't mean- Well, actually I what I did mean was- I was just afraid you..."

He swallowed and pullet himself together. "I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that... I hate seeing you being nice to others without getting anything back."

"Because I'm _too nice for my own good_?"

"Yeah, well, you are... Like today, you told Blaziken to catch Laura's Azumarill so it wouldn't get hurt. And she didn't even seem grateful. Then, in the finals you were so close to win, but some part of you just gave up, and yet you're not even a little angry or disappointed in yourself, and you still find a way to be happy for someone you barely know?"

May looked down. "I understand what you're saying... But... Doesn't 'being nice' that you do other people favors without expecting anything in return?"

"Well, yeah... It's just that you don't always have to be nice to others... It's okay to selfish from time to time."

"I know... This time I... really did do all I could. I did my best to put up a fight, but maybe I held back a bit on a subconscious level. But in the end, I'm still happy. I don't regret anything."

He looked at her, while she watched the sunset with a genuinely happy expression on her face.

"Well, then... I guess, if you're happy, then I'm happy for you."

They saw the sun go down together, the sky slowly getting darker until it was filled with dazzling stars. At some point, they both lied down on the sand, May resting her head on Drew's arm, as they started gazing at the stars.

They didn't say much during the time they lied there, except for a few moments where May pointed out one and another constellation.


	8. Chapter 8 - Light

Light

When May got up the next morning, and went down to the hotel lobby, she heard from the receptionist that Drew had already gone. He had taken the earliest ferry to Olivine City, apparently, but left a rose for May. The receptionist handed the red flower over to her, and she just blankly stared at it.

_Couldn't even say goodbye..._she thought.

"Oh, wait! He left me one more thing", the receptionist said and handed her a poster.

It was a poster for a Pokémon Contest, however it seemed very different from regular posters. Instead of random Pokémon, May noticed that there were only evolutions of Eeevee; An Espeon, an Umbreon, a Flareon and a Leafeon. And in the four corners were photos of girls dressed in kimonos. Under the headline POKÉMON CONEST it said:

Kimono Girl Pokémon Contest

Location: Ecruteak City

Girls and women only

Pokémon: can only be Eevee or any of its evolutions

Date: August 5.

"Is this a real contest?" May asked and showed the poster to the receptionist.

"It is! It's arranged by the Kimono Girls in Ecruteak, but the rules are like any other contest, except of course, you need to be a girl and have a Pokémon from the Eevee-family, but you get a Grand Festival ribbon and everything."

"Huh, why can't boys enter?"

"Those are the rules", she shrugged.

"Oh, okay then."

"Do you have an eeveelution?"

"Yeah, I have a Glaceon."

"Then you're all set! The contest's in a week, so you better hurry!"

"Oh, right! Uh, thank you!" May ran out of the hotel, only to run back in again. "Wait, I need to check out first!"

In a few hours she was in the harbor again, climbing on board the next ship to take her back to Olivine.

During the boat ride she sat on a bench on the main deck and rearranged her bag. In the middle of the process she came across a red pouch, with something heavy inside. She tried to remember where she got it from.

"Oh, yeah, that old man from the Safari Zone gate..."

She opened it and took out what was inside; a tiny marble shining in different colors with a strange swirl inside it, a larger marble shifting in red, black and yellow, an adjustable bracelet and finally another bracelet, but bigger. She looked at the items, trying to remember the old man's words:

"_Something called Mega Stones! It's a Blazikenite for your Blaziken and a Banettite your Banette. There's also a _Key Stone,_ with adjustable bracelets for you. You'll discover how it all works eventually."_

Mega Stones... She looked at the big marble with red, black and yellow in it, and to the larger bracelet. There was a hole for the "mega stone" to put into it. When she did that, there was a loud _click._ She then eyed over at the smaller stone and the other bracelet.

_That must be the Key Stone, _she figured. She put the Key Stone in the bracelet. Another _click_.

"Now what?" she said to herself.

_Let them hold the big stones, and it can unlock amazing powers._

May called out her Blaziken and put the bigger bracelet onto its arm, and the smaller bracelet around her left wrist. Blaziken was looking at the Blazikenite confused.

"I don't know what it is, really..." she told it. "Something called 'Mega Stone'..."

The two of them went back and forth with their eyes on the Key Stone to the Mega Stone, trying to figure out what it's all about.

"They're probably connected, somehow. I just don't know what they're supposed to do..."

After a about an hour they gave up, not coming to any enlightenment on whatever these stones or marbles were supposed to do. She called Blaziken back to its poké ball and sighed. They'll figure it out eventually, she hoped.

Soon enough she was back in Olivine's harbor. It was early afternoon already. She looked around, wondering if she should set off to Ecruteak City already, when she had a thought:

_I should visit Jasmine,_ May thought

She went over to the City's Gym, but when she walked in, she was stopped by a trainer that worked there.

"I'm sorry, but Gym Leader Jasmine isn't here right now", she said.

"Where is she?"

"She's in the lighthouse, watching over Sparkle and Light."

"Sparkle... and who?"

"Her Ampharos, Sparkle, and its child, Light."

"...Oh!"

"In other words, Light is a Mareep", the trainer added. "If that wasn't clear."

"No, I got that... Where's the lighthouse?"

"Just east of the harbor, but-"

"Okay, thank you!" May hurried away before the trainer could say anything else.

She rushed to the lighthouse, a high tower on a hill by the shore. On the very top she spotted a round room with windows all around. That must be where Jasmine was. When she arrived at the entrance, she noticed two people in dark clothes guarding the door, their arms crossed over their chests.

"What is it, runt?" the guy to the right snarled.

"Get lost!" the other one hissed.

"Excuse me? Who are you?"

"None of your business. Go away", the right guy insisted.

"My friend is in the lighthouse, and I can go in here if I want to!" May was getting annoyed. Who were these people? "Let me in, or else!"

The left guy laughed. "As if you could defeat us!"

Both of the guys put their arms by their sides simultaneously, and revealed the red _R_s on their shirts.

"You... You're members of Team Rocket!?" she gasped.

"Nice observation, twerp", the right guy sniggered. "If you want to get past us, you have to beat us first!" He took out a poké ball from his pocket. The other guy did the same.

"Fine!" she agreed, grabbed Beautifly's and Glaceon's poké balls and called them out.

The Team Rocket grunts called out their Pokémon as well: a Golbat and a Weezing. These should be easy.

"Glaceon, Ice Shard and Beautifly use Psychic!"

Glaceon shot out icicles and Beautifly controlled them with psychic, and landed a double hit on Golbat and Weezing.

"Hah, that won't do any good! Golbat, Air Slash on Beautifly!"

The Golbat sent out a big slash with its wings towards May's Pokémon. "Beautifly, counter with Silver Wind!"

The Silver Wind tared the Air Slash apart and hit both Golbat and Weezing.

"Good, now Glaceon, Shadow Ball!"

"Weezing, Sludge Wave!"

The Shadow Ball and Sludge Wave struck each other, causing a minor explosion.

"Shoot! Glaceon-"

"Weezing! Smokescreen, quick!"

Before May could command Glaceon of anything, Weezing coughed out smoke, blocking the view of the opponents and their Pokémon.

"Oh, no! What now?"

"Tackle!"

"Wing Attack!"

Weezing and Golbat jumped out of the smoke. Golbat hit Beautifly with its wings and Weezing tackled Glaceon before they went back behind the smoke.

May's Pokémon stumbled on the spot. She had to be quick now, before they would attack again.

_Oh, right._

"Beautifly, take out the smoke and Weezing with Aerial Ace!"

Beautifly charged its attack, dove into the smoke and dissolved it. It found Weezing and knocked it out.

"What!? How the-"

"Aerial Ace never misses its target", she said triumphant. "Glaceon, Ice Beam!"

Glaceon unleashed a beam of ice on Golbat and knocked it out as well. The grunts stood there with gaping mouths.

"Argh, how can a mere little girl defeat us?" the left guy growled.

"Now, let me inside the lighthouse!" May commanded.

"No way, idiot!" the right guy yelled back at her.

"Fine. Beautifly, send them away with Silver Wind!"

Beautifly flapped its wings and whirled up a storm of silver, and sent the Rocket grunt flying, landing in the ocean. She called her Pokémon back and ran into the lighthouse. Before she entered, she heard one of the guys shout:

"You'll never make it past the Admins, turd!"

Inside was a spiral staircase leading up.

_Admins_,she thought. _Team Rocket Admins are up there. _She sprinted up the stairs, biting her lip. _Please, don't be too late. Please!_

She managed to get all the way up to the highest floor, all sweaty and out of breath. When she could stand up again, she noticed a big, closed door in front of her. On the other side of it must be the room where Jasmine and Ampharos are.

May went up to the door and pushed it open. The first thing she saw was the back of a man and a woman. The man had short blue hair and white clothing, the woman had red hair in a strange hairstyle, dressed in a white shirt, long white skirt and black boots. On the other side of the room was Jasmine with her arms out, trying to protect an injured Ampharos and a Mareep against an Ekans and a Houndour.

The sound of the door being opened made the Man and the Woman turn around. Their eyes hardened at the sight of May. They had to be the Admins.

"May?" Jasmine shouted, surprised.

"Who's this?" the Man asked his colleague.

"Just a girl", the Woman replied. "Ekans, get rid of her!"

The Ekans jumped up behind the Woman and hissed at May, who grabbed Noibat's safari ball in her waist bag and called it out.

The Houndour growled at Jasmine. Sparkle held Light tightly, trying her best to protect her child.

"Hand over the Ampharos, Gym Leader", the Man spoke calmly to her. "And no one else gets harmed."

"No! Never!" Jasmine yelled.

She tried her best to shield Sparkle. There wasn't much else she could do; Her Pokémon were back at the Gym. All of a sudden the baby Mareep jumped out of its mother's grip and in front of Jasmine. The Ampharos called out after it, but the Mareep didn't listen.

"You... want to fight?" Jasmine asked Light and she nodded determinedly. "Alright. Light, Thundershock!"

A thin, blue bolt of lightning struck Houndour, without doing much harm.

"What a weakling", the Man sighed. "Bite, Houndour."

Houndour ran towards Light, ready to bury its fangs in her, when Noibat's Air Cutter sent Ekans flying and landed on Houndour's back.

"What in the-"

May ran past the Admins to Jasmine's side. "You're not getting Sparkle!" she shouted at them.

"Urgh, what a pain", the Man groaned.

"That girl is tougher than she looks", the Woman said.

"Why do you even want Ampharos?" Jasmine asked angrily.

"As if we would tell you", the Woman snorted.

"It's a Top Secret Project by Team Rocket", the Man said. "Let's finish them off. Houndour, Flamethrower!"

"Ekans, Poison Sting!"

"Noibat, grab onto Light and fly!"

Noibat took a hold onto Light with its feet and flew upwards. They manage to dodge the attacks, however the attack landed just by Sparkle and Jasmine.

"Oh, no!"

The Admins laughed mockingly. "Oh, wow. That's really stupid", the Man howled.

"I'm so sorry! Jasmine, are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Jasmine replied. She'd fallen onto Ampharos. "Don't worry about us. But you have to battle them alone."

"Okay", May said. "What's Light's moves?"

"Thundershock, Thunderwave, Tackle and Return."

May turned around to the battle again. "Noibat, Echoed Voice! Light, cover your ears."

Light put her front legs on the side of her head, and Noibat let out an Echoed Voice, striking both Houndour and Ekans at the same time.

"Good, now Noibat, drop Light!"

"Wait, what?" Jasmine exclaimed.

Noibat let go of the Mareep, letting it fall down towards the opponents.

"Noibat, Supersonic on Houndour! Light, Thunderwave on Ekans!"

Noibat's attack got Houndour confused, and the Thunderwave struck Ekans, leaving it paralyzed.

"Yes", she triumphed. "Noibat, Air Cutter!"

Tiny blades of wind hit the foes, with them doing nothing. The Admins commanded them to fight back, but Houndour confusingly went into a wall and Ekans stood put, not able to move a muscle.

Jasmine stared at the battle, amazed at how May could command Pokémon like that.

"Alright! Light, Tackle Ekans!" Light charged and Ekans took a hit. "Return!" The Mareep immidietly hit its opponent with Return after that, knocking it out with great power.

"What!? Impossible!" the Woman shrieked and turned to the Man. "Take them out!"

"Houndour, Fire Fang!"

Houndour snapped out of confusion, charged at Light with fire in its mouth.

"Noibat, Night Slash!"

Noibat dove down, slashing the hound with a dark claws, not having much effect on it, but nonetheless seized the attack.

"Now, let's finish this off. Noibat, Air Cutter! Mareep, Thundershock!"

Mareep charged a tiny bolt of lightning and with Noibat's attack, the power increased and a storm of thunder struck Houndour and sent it flying back to its master. The Admins were also struck by the attack and went flying through the window, out in the sky somewhere.

May fell to the floor in relief. "We did it." Noibat came flying, hugging her violently, and the baby Mareep ran towards her, jumping into her arms, happy and cheerful "You were awesome!"

Now she turned over to Jasmine and Sparkle. They seemed to have woken up now. Light jumped out of her grip and ran to its mom. Jasmine stood up on shaky legs.

"Jasmine! Are you okay?" May asked worriedly. "I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine... Thanks to you, Team Rocket is gone and Ampharos is safe."

"But... the attacks..."

"Don't worry, I have Full Restore for that!" Jasmine picked up a bottle of green essence and sprayed it all over Ampharos, and soon she was back to health. She got out a Super Potion and sprayed it on Light. "There, all better!"

May called Noibat back to its safari ball. She then sat down and petted Mareep's soft fur. "You were really good out there", she praised it.

Light nuzzled with her hand.

"Light is just a baby, but you still managed to battle with her full potential", Jasmine said impressed.

"Oh? Well, I just did what came to mind. Light did the rest, really."

"But Return... It's an attack that's only powerful if the Pokémon has a close bond to its trainer. Light here must already feel close to you already."

"Wow, really?" May looked down on the baby that looked back at her with admiring eyes. She smiled.

Jasmine looked over at the broken window and sighed. "I guess I have to fix that tomorrow."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'll help you."

Jasmine turned back to May. "No need, you've already done everything."

"Are you sure?"

The Gym Leader seemed puzzled. She looked over at Sparkle, then at Light and finally at May. "I have a thought", she said. "Light here is still a baby, but she really wants to get out in the world."

"Oh?"

"I think she'd be happy with someone to take her on a journey..."

"You mean... I can have Light?"

"If you want. The lighthouse is not a place for an excited child like Light. I think Sparkle would approve, too. Right?" Jasmine asked her Ampharos, and she nodded happily to May and Light.

May smiled. "I'd be happy to!" she said.

Light and Sparkle took their time to say goodbye, and when they were were done, Jasmine and May walked down the stairs together, May holding Light in her arms. The two girls hugged goodbye outside.

"Good luck to you, May!"

"Thank you. You too!"

"I hope we'll see each other again soon."

May went to the Pokémon Center with Light. She called home and decided to send Beautifly back, so Skitty could have some company again.

Then she picked up an empty poké ball and put Light down on the floor. She held the poké ball in front of her.

"Light, welcome aboard." Light nodded, pushed the button on the poké ball and let herself be captured. May hugged the ball tightly. "I caught myself a Mareep!" she cheered and struck a victory pose.


	9. Chapter 9 - Sakura

Sakura

By early afternoon on the third day of traveling along route 39, May finally arrived at route 38. During that time she had been practicing with Glaceon and the upcoming contest in Ecruteak City. Route 38 would take about two days, in other words she'd arrive the day before the contest. She decided to take a break and make lunch for herself.

As she got out food and cooking tools from her bag, she discovered the rose that she had received from Drew. It had withered and lost most of its color and petals, because it had been lying at the bottom, smashed by her equipment. May had done that on purpose, because his sudden leave had made her angry. But now looking at the dry flat flower she couldn't help feeling guilty.

She shook it off by closing the bag and got a fire started with the help of Blaziken. When her lunch was done, she called out all her Pokémon and fed them, too. All of them got a taste of the Poké Puffs as well.

When the rest of them were only halfway through their portions, Munchlax has already done and seemed restless. Before May could stop him, he'd taken off.

"Munchlax, wait!" she yelled at him.

She dropped her bowl of ramen and ran after him, and saw him crashing into a girl with magenta hair up ahead. The clash had taken out both Munchlax and the poor girl.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" May asked worriedly when she'd ran up to them.

The girl sat up and gave her a troubled smile. "Yes, I'm just fine."

May scolded Munchlax and sent him back into his poké ball. Then she helped the girl to her feet. The girl was about the same age as May, and had magenta colored hair in pigtails and was wearing a pink blouse and a blue skirt.

"Thank you", the girl said and brushed dirt off her skirt.

"Oh, no problem at all."

"Oh! You're a Pokémon Coordinator, aren't you? I saw you competing in the Wallace Cup. May, right?"

"Yes, that would be me..." May sighed to herself. This recognition was starting to get overwhelming.

"Yeah, I was watching it because I saw that my friend Ash was competing."

"You know Ash?" May asked surprised.

"Yeah, I met him, Brock and Misty years ago when they were traveling here in Johto. You know him, too, then I guess?"

"Yup, I used to travel with him, too."

"I see. Anyway, since you're a coordinator I'm guessing you're going to participate in the Kimono Girl Contest?"

"Yeah, are you going to compete too?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I'm going to be a judge, heh." She bowed in a very traditional way. "I'm the Kimono Girl, Sakura."

"You're a Kimono Girl?" May gasped.

Sakura giggled. "Yup! If you need any tips, just ask!"

May went back to her other Pokémon with Sakura. She took immediate interest in Glaceon.

"Oh, wow, a Glaceon! She's really pretty!" Sakura petted Glaceon behind her ear while May cleaned up the mess she'd caused when she chased after Munchlax.

"I think Glaceon likes you", May said. "You hungry? I have some ramen."

"Oh, that would be great, thanks!"

May got two bowls of ramen ready for her and Sakura. As they were eating Sakura gave May some information about the contest.

"The contest, as you've probably already know, is arranged by me and my older sisters", Sakura explained. "Tamao and I are judges. Koume is the announcer. And Satsuki and Sumomo are backstage prepping all the contestants."

"Prepping? For what?"

"Oh, well, every contestant has to wear a kimono that matches their Pokémon..."

"Huh? Why is that?"

"Well, otherwise it wouldn't be called the _Kimono Girl Contest_, now would it?" Sakura giggled. "It was my idea. Lately, the Kimono Girls have fallen out of fashion. People are starting to think of it as 'too girly' and 'passe', but it's not. It's a tradition, and it's honorable to us. And we want everyone to know that being Kimono Girls doesn't mean you're a weak damsel. It means you're a strong girl that can hold your own battle. That being a girl and wearing a kimono isn't something dishonorable, it's something to be proud of."

Sakura spoke so passionately about the contest and the Kimono Girl tradition, that it only got May even more psyched for the contest.

"So that's why it's a girls- and women-only contest?"

Sakura nodded. "It aspires young girls, telling them that being girly isn't a bad thing. And now we're more popular than ever thanks to this contest!"

"Huh, that's great... But why do you only get to compete with an eeveelution?"

"Tradition, again. Every Kimono Girl gets an Eevee, and they get to evolve it to whatever they want. Or it can stay an Eevee too, of course."

After they finished the meal, Sakura stood up all of a sudden.

"Let's have battle", she said.

"Huh?" She caught May off guard.

"C'mon! Are you a trainer or not! Let's go! A 3-on-3 battle!" Sakura's eyes were sparkling with anticipation.

May stood up too. "Fine! Let's go!" She called back all of her Pokémon into their poké balls.

She and Sakura went a little further away, to a spot that suited for battles. Sakura called out her first Pokémon; a Beautifly!

"Whoa!" May gasped as Beautifly's wings sparkled almost as shiny as her own. She smirked. "Let's go, Light!"

The baby Mareep jumped out, ready to go. May had taught her a few new moves these past few days; she could now use Power Gem instead of Tackle, and Discharge instead of Thundershock.

"Beautifly, Giga Drain", Sakura commanded her Pokémon.

The butterfly dove down, straightened out its long mouth and charged at Light.

"Light, Thunderwave!"

Mareep sent out lightning waves towards Beautifly, but it was fast enough to dodge them. The long mouth hit Light on the forehead, and it sucked out some energy.

_Now that it's close here's my chance_!"Power Gem!"

Light's yellow orb on its tail glowed and several tiny gemstones out of light levitated around her, and struck Beautifly with a critical hit.

"Discharge!" May yelled.

"Gust!"

Light charged out its lightning powers at full potential, but the wind from Beautifly's wings made it strike all over the place, missing its target.

"Good, Beautifly! String Shot!" Gooey web sprouted out of Beautifly's mouth and got wrapped around Light's tail. "Now, spin!"

The butterfly started spinning in the air with the string shot making the little lamb twirl around as well. Beautifly lifted Mareep up in the air, still spinning, and let go of the strings. Light was whirling up in mid air, powerless to counter.

"Oh, no!" May exclaimed.

"Take it down with Gust!"

The wind from Beautifly's wings struck Light, and forced it downwards. The Mareep was falling to the ground in a rapid speed.

May gritted her teeth when she had an idea. "Light! Discharge down at the ground!"

Light did as her trainer said. The electric attack slowed the fall down, and she landed on the ground smoothly.

"Not bad, May!" Sakura praised her. "But we're not even close to done."

"Neither are we", May said. "Light, let's give them another Power Gem and then Thunderwave!"

The light stones were charged with the paralyzing electric attack and were coming towards Beautifly.

"Silver Wind!"

The attack created a beautiful sight with mix of a silver wind and electrifying gems, that were floating in mid air, not attacking anything.

"Light, use Discharge to force the gems towards Beautifly!"

This time, Beautifly couldn't counter nor dodge; the gems were even more electrocuted and were coming at it at full speed. The attack left it paralyzed. Now was her chance!

"Return!"

Light charged up and took all of her body strength to attack her foe. Beautifly couldn't move, and was knocked out.

"Way to go!" May praised Light and ran up to hug her.

Sakura called back her Beautifly and said: "Nice work, Beautifly." Then she looked up at May. "Very impressive, May."

"Thanks, you too!"

For the second round, Sakura chose a Bellossom, and May called out Wartortle. Bellossom started with a Petal Blizzardbut got interrupted by Wartortle's Bubblebeam and the pink petals got stuck in dazzling bubbles.

"Ice Beam!" Wartortle froze all of the bubbles, and they all came crashing down towards the Pokémon. "Rapid Spin!"

Wartortle hid inside its shell and spun around on the ground, dodging the falling ice bubbles that struck Bellossom. Now Wartortle attacked Bellossom with its rapid spin too. But Sakura didn't seem distressed about it.

"Venoshock, Bellossom!"

Suddenly, Bellossom drenched Wartortle in liquid poison from its body. That left May's Pokémon poisoned.

"Now, Leaf Storm!"

Sakura's Pokémon unleashed a storm of razor sharp leaves at Wartortle, and sent in backwards with full force. Wartortle fell on its stomach and could barely stand up. The poison made it even weaker.

"Let's do a Petal Blizzard again!"

Dazzling and sharp pink petals were unleashed towards Wartortle. "Force your way through the petal blizzard with Rapid Spin!" Wartortle did as it was told, and got through the opponent's attack scarcely. It was only two feet from Bellossom now.

"Ice Beam!"

"Magical Leaf!"

A ray of ice struck Bellossom, and several glowing leaves hit Wartortle. Both of the Pokémon were exhausted. It seemed May could win, when the poison once again got to Wartortle and it fainted. She called it back to its poké ball, praised it well and let it rest.

"You're really good, Sakura", May complimented.

"Yeah, so are you!"

For the third round, May knew exactly what Pokémon she'd use; and she had a feeling what kind of Pokémon Sakura was going to use too.

May called out her Glaceon, and Sakura grinned.

"I knew you'd do that", she said and called out her third Pokémon: An Espeon.

"I knew you'd do that too", May replied.

"Tell you what, May. After this I'll call my sister and she can drive us both back to Ecruteak City, and if you win I'll help you prep for the contest. Deal?"

"Deal! Glaceon, Ice Shard!"

The ice shard were shot at Espeon, but were countered by a psybeam, and switched the direction towards Glaceon, who jumped aside in the last minute. May ordered her to shoot a Shadow Ball. Espeon stopped it with a Swift, and sparkles were raining over them.

Espeon got closer to Glaceon and struck her with a Quick Attack, and Glaceon hit back with Mirror Coat.

"Glaceon, Iron Tail, now!"

"Dig, Espeon!"

Glaceon was about to hit Espeon with its steel hard tail, when it disappeared underground. Everything was still for a while. Suddenly, Espeon turned up right underneath Glaceon's feet and attacked.

"Good one, Espeon!"

"Shadow Ball!"

The ice Pokémon unleashed the ghost type attack, right in the psychic Pokémon's face, taking it down on the ground, right on its back.

"No!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yes! Iron Tail!"

Unable to move, Espeon was struck by the iron tail. May thought they'd won, when the foe stood up again.

"What?"

"Hah, Espeon doesn't go down that easily! Let's give them a Swift!"

Shiny stars were shot out from the red gem on its forehead and several of them landed on its opponent. May commanded her Pokémon to counter back with Mirror Coat, and Espeon got hit as well.

Now both of the eeveelutions started to get tired. Glaceon was about to fire an ice shard, and Espeon charged for a psybeam. They unleashed them at the same time, both attacked hit their target, but that knocked both of them out.

"Huh, I guess that's a tie", Sakura shrugged.

"Yeah..."

They both went up to their respective Pokémon and praised them before sending them back to their poké ball. Then they went up to each other and shook hands.

"Great battle, May!"

"Thanks, you too."

"Well, what do you say I'll call my sister now?"

Sakura called her older sister Satsuki, who said she'd could pick them up first thing in the morning, since it's a long drive. So May and Sakura decided to walk for about another two hours, before they set a camp somewhere down route 38. They talked for several hours about everything between heaven and earth, mostly about their Pokémon travels.

Long after nightfall they fell asleep, and by ten the next morning, Satsuki arrived with a jeep to pick them up. Satsuki was a very mature woman, and very sweet and kind to her baby sister and May. She had to get up at seven to give them the ride.

Two and a half hours later, they arrived in Ecruteak City just outside their house, and Sakura offered May the guest room, and May happily accepted. That evening she had dinner with the whole family and became good friends with all of the sisters. Later, went to the Pokémon Center to heal her Pokémon.

She went inside, when she bumped into an awfully familiar face; A blonde girl with a purple dress and a snooty face.

"May?"

"Laura!?"

_Shoot_.


End file.
